| Also by 2hot4u181
This is the result of a collaboration of two authors: 2hot4u181 (Megz),
and leb388. This story is in no way meant to offend anyone, especially Mr. Shankly,
who in real life is much different than the dung-loving criminal mastermind
we portray him as in this story. Also, JamezBfod
helped...a little.
In Neopia, before there were the inhabitants that are
now called faeries, there were gods. Neopians near and far would worship such
idols as the Asparagus god, the Art goddess and the Pickle god. But the most
important god of all was the Dung god. But as the faeries came and blessed pets
with powers the gods held only to themselves, they were neglected, and employed
by faeries to maintain the land. But the Dung god was displeased, and swore
revenge an all of Neopia for this lament.
Now, the Dung god was known as Mr. Shankly, the
mild-mannered Neopian Times editor. He was always kind and curious, yet a tad
strange, but he never showed any sign of having any god-like powers. But this
was only a disguise for the once great Dung god. Abandoned by his followers
for the sickeningly pure Faerie Queen, he finally began to realise how to convert
Neopia back to the old ways.
"The trophies!" he said with a snicker and a
grin. A well-trained mage had once taught him basic spells for defending and
blocking against curses. But Shankly had other ideas....
In Neopia...
"Beggar mail? Delete! Good mail? Reply. A question?
Reply. Hmm."
Leb388 was intensely frustrated as she sat on
her Neocouch reading the day's Neomail. She put down the unanswered letters
and, with a sigh, strode toward her trophy cabinet. Her eyes darted past her
small amount of trophies until they rested on a small gold tailfeather with
an inscription below it. "Twenty-nine times champion," leb388 silently read
with her lips.
Of course, I would be rejected this week,
she thought angrily. She had sent in a story that was pretty well-written by
her standards. Not great, but not bad. For awhile she had hoped for a 30x Champion
trophy, but it would have to wait another week. But little did the Neopian know
that not getting in that week saved her life.
Meanwhile...
"I hope I made in the Times! I just have
to have made in the Times!" 2hot4u181, also known as Megz, yelled. She raced
inside her NeoHome to check her Times trophy. She, too, had been hoping for
an upgrade to 10x Champion, but her trophy stubbornly remained at 9x. "Oh! Maybe
Mr. Shankly just didn't finish the Times yet. Yep, that's it."
Megz ran out of her NeoHome, only to see a cheerful
Chia delivery boy yelling, "Neopian Times! Getcha Neopian Times! Issue 72!"
Megz sighed and went to get a Times paper. She
flipped through the paper and started to read as she walked to Neopia Central.
"Yeah, Dungism. Isn't it awesome?"
She stopped and looked around. She was surrounded
by Neopians, so she looked back at her Times issue.
"Where'd you find out about it?" another voice
asked.
"The Neopian Times, where else? There was just
a short message that the Times was sponsored by Dungism, and that there's a
meeting tonight."
"Are you going?"
"Of course I'm going, aren't you? Dungism seems
like the best thing since sliced Neowaiian Bread."
"So, did you get in the Times this week? I did."
"Yep, I got the next part of my series in. It's
going to finish up next week."
Curiously, Megz looked up and saw that the Neopians
who were talking were actually a bunch of fellow Times authors she knew. But
a strange feeling warned her not to talk to them, and she instead flipped back
to the front page of her Times issue and saw the following in the sponsor section:
Dungism Meeting
"This week's issue is brought to you by: Dungism.
Meeting at midnight tonight in the Deserted Fairground."
A bit perplexed at this weird announcement, Megz
decided to go only to check it out, and went back to her NeoHome in the meantime.
After hours of waiting, the clock that resided on
the mantle in the living room of Megz's NeoHome finally chimed twelve. She was
still cleaning up after the chaos of the day, but tired and stressed, she walked
into the chocolate kitchen and caught a glimpse out the side window.
A flood of Times stars seemed to be walking out
in the street, including famous people like Al_the_Chia. "This is weird," she
thought to herself. "Maybe they're going to that dung meeting--or whatever it's
called."
Meanwhile...
Leb388 looked out the window as Megz had already
done. "I might as well head home, since it's midnight," she said softly, walking
outside and closing the door. She never stayed online that long, but today was
a rather stressful and odd day. She broke into a run as she headed for the street,
which was crowded with people.
"AUGH!" both leb388 and Megz screamed as they
whacked into each other.
"Who or what are you?" Megz asked.
"Leb388, and you?" Leb388 retorted.
"I'm 2hot4u181, it's a mouthful. Call me Megz,"
Megz replied.
"Okay, Megz. Have you noticed something strange
going on around here?"
"Well, it's really late, and we're surrounded
by a crowd of people."
"So then it's not just me?" leb388 asked. "I
think we ought to find out what's going on."
Megz agreed, and they both blended in with the
crowd that seemed to be heading to the Deserted Fairground.
"This place always gave me the creeps," Megz
whispered with the shudder.
"Me too. But especially that weird clown roller
coaster has got me freaked out," leb388 replied, pointing to the old, boarded-up
ride. Except now the boards were missing.
"It looks like everyone is going in there. We
might as well follow," Megz said, walking slowly and peering in.
Inside was a high-ceiling cave. In the very centre
was a bubbling caldron and above that was stood Mr. Shankly, The Neopian Times
programmer, on a large platform.
"OK, who invited the weirdo?" Megz muttered to
herself.
"Shh, I think I heard a Spyder!" Leb whispered
fearfully, leaning from the edge a little more.
Megz rolled her eyes at the idea of hearing a
Spyder's squeak in a cave with nearly over hundred Neopians, and turned her
attention back to Shankly.
"He's going to say something!" someone from the
crowd shouted, and a silence soon fell.
"Fellow Neopians!" Shankly said loudly, and the
sound echoed throughout the cave. A light turned on, and leb388 and Megz noticed
that all sorts of pets and their owners had been standing in a circus fashion
around what appeared to be the "centre" ring. "Tonight is the night we begin
to revolutionise Neopia! Tonight, we begin a crusade against the faeries in
an effort to restore Neopia to its former self--full of gods and goddesses that
actually care for Neopets!"
A loud applause followed.
"Tonight, I, the Dung god, will swear my revenge
against the faeries until all is right with Neopia! And I need you all to do
my bidding! I need you all to fight for what is right with Neopia! DOWN WITH
THE FAERIES!"
The cave erupted with cheers, and Megz and leb388
slowly inched out of the cave.
"Now, that was weird!" Megz exclaimed.
Leb388 nodded. "That's the sort of mindless applause
I hear after a school-fundraiser meeting. And being inside that cave was spooky,
but I think Shankly was just joking around."
"I don't know. Think we should alert the Faerie
Queen about this?" Megz asked, brushing some dirt off her hoody.
"What?" leb388 asked, shocked. "I always thought
Shankly was a cool guy, and this is probably just a sick joke. After all, what
will we say to the Faerie Queen? 'Hi, Fyora. A mindless throng led by Mr. Shankly
wants to overthrow your power.'" Leb388 rolled her eyes.
Suddenly, the crowd emerged from the entrance
of the cave, yelling things like "All hail the Dung god!" and "Down with the
Faeries!"
"And remember," boomed Mr. Shankly, "we can't
stop until I am the chief of all gods!"
JamezBfod, leb388's older brother, ran to the
opening of the cave with his Blue Shoyru, Six75. "My midnight hackey-sack game!"
he cried. "IS THERE NO JUSTICE?"
Megz and leb388 exchanged worried glances, and
both started an all-out run toward Faerieland.
To be continued... | 
